


Hours Are Time's Shafts

by Tinker888



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-19 18:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10645857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tinker888/pseuds/Tinker888
Summary: The Doctor and Clara respond to a distress call from an old friend in the Scottish Highlands. However, before this adventure ends, The Doctor must face an old foe. Even with a bit of assistance from Nikola Tesla, will he and Clara be able to sort everything out?





	1. Teaser

**Doctor Who (12th Doctor)**

**“Hours Are Time's Shafts"**

 

TEASER FADE IN:

EXT. SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS - SUNSET A barren windswept hill. In the distance is a lone house, more of a hut really. We see a glowing light from within and a plume of smoke rising from the chimney. After a beat, a dark cloudy shape drifts across our view and two menacing beady red eyes fix on the camera, then slowly turn toward the hut and the shape drifts off in that direction.

INT. CALLUM'S HUT - SUNSET Inside the hut we see a man, CALLUM MACBAIN, in his late thirties, a full beard, scraggly hair and a generally unkempt appearance. He is stoking the fire anxiously. The only furnishings in the hut are a spare bed, a desk with a steampunk jumbled WWII radio on it, and a table & chair. The table is covered in notes and drawings. These are very similar to the scrawled chalk notes on The Doctor's chalkboards, some Gallifreyan symbols, formulas, etc... He keeps looking at the door, which is bolted shut and has a large wooden cross-bar securing it as well. He speaks with a thick Scottish accent.

CALLUM MACBAIN

(muttering to himself)

Nae, nae, nae... You're not getting in tonight me wee Brollachan beastie.

You can just keep your unformed self outside a bit. Keep your head Callum.

CALLUM goes over to the table and shuffles the papers anxiously.

CALLUM MACBAIN (cont'd)

I've got to get the damn temporal wireless activated. What am I missing?

A long low WAILING SOUND breaks through the WHISTLING WIND and there is a mighty BANG on the door.

CALLUM MACBAIN (cont'd)

Gonnae no' do that! If you knew what were best for you, you'd be scrammin'!

Oh, wait, wait, aye, you've just given me a thought. Aye, aye, I think I've got it I just need to...

(picks up 2-3 pieces of paper off the desk and goes over to the transmitter)

I've just got to connect the steam inductor to the amplification module and give it a good whack!

Aye, that's it then.

Callum hastily makes the connection, SLAMS his hand against the side of the contraption and then pulls the chair over and slips on the old headset. His fingers fly across the controls as he dials in the frequency he is looking for.

CALLUM MACBAIN (cont'd)

This is Wildcat calling The Doctor. Come in Doctor.

Wildcat calling The Doctor, come in.

Callum gets nothing but STATIC. The WAILING and BANGING from the entity outside intensify.

CALLUM MACBAIN (cont'd)

Okay, okay, keep your wits man - This is Wildcat, I'd much appreciate it

if you could find the time to answer the damn wireless.

I've got a wee bit of a problem here and

unless you want the nest of Brollachans to take over the planet,

you'd best be getting yourself to this signal.

And hurry up if you would be so kind.

With his last sentence the door BLOWS open and the dark cloudy entity with the blazing red eyes floats into the room. Callum gulps and grabbing the microphone, he moves away from the creature, but is backed into a corner and he has nowhere to go.

FADE OUT.

END OF TEASER


	2. ACT ONE

**ACT ONE**

FADE IN: INT. TARDIS - EXACT LOCATION UNKNOWN: The DOCTOR and CLARA are scrambling around the TARDIS looking for the source of the intense BEEPING sounds.

 

THE DOCTOR

It's got to be here somewhere Clara. It's my interstellar wireless.

Haven't used it in years, or maybe decades, or could be centuries...

CLARA OSWALD

Doctor. Focus. It doesn't really matter when you last used it,

but if someone is trying to reach you, it must be something of an emergency

don't you think?

THE DOCTOR

I think all of the time, Clara. And yes, I would say it would only be used in an

emergency- ahhh, that's it. It would be in the emergency communications

locker, because that's for emergencies. And that would be down here.

 

He deftly reaches his long right arm between the deck panels, lifting up one of them revealing the receiver for the wireless. He and Clara sit on the floor as he removes the cover and grabs the microphone.

CLARA OSWALD

So, you do remember how to use this, right?

THE DOCTOR

Hmmph. Of course I do, it's like riding a bicycle,

once you've learned you never forget.

 

He is absently turning every knob and dial and it is obvious he does NOT know how to use this device.

 

THE DOCTOR (cont'd)

Except less bicycley and more complicated and perhaps

not as easy as I first thought.

 

Clara keeps trying to point out buttons to The Doctor, but he swats her hand away.

 

CLARA OSWALD

If you'd just try...

THE DOCTOR

No, not that one...

CLARA OSWALD

Then how about the green one?

THE DOCTOR

No green is bad.

CLARA OSWALD

No green is usually good.

THE DOCTOR

That's what everyone thinks, isn't it?

 

Finally after much trial and error, Callum's signal finally comes through. Speaking into the microphone, The Doctor attempts to reply.

 

THE DOCTOR (cont'd)

Wildcat this is Blue Box, come in.

 

Hearing nothing but STATIC, The Doctor hands the microphone to Clara.

THE DOCTOR (cont'd)

Keep trying to reach him. I'm going to change course back to Earth.

CLARA OSWALD

Umm, this is Blue Box, Wildcat can you hear us?

CALLUM MACBAIN

Aye, lassie. I can hear you just fine, but if you don't get the Doctor to direct

his bonnie blue box over here in the next few seconds, you'll have a

Brollachan possessed dead man waiting for you.

Looking up at The Doctor, Clara beseeches him...

CLARA OSWALD

Hurry Doctor. I don't know what he's talking about but it doesn't sound good.

 

The Doctor finishes frantically entering the coordinates and SLAMS the control bar down with a flourish.

 

 

EXT. SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS; JUST OUTSIDE OF CALLUM'S HUT -SUNSET: The TARDIS materializes just outside the hut. The Doctor runs out and Clara is close behind him. He flies through the door skidding to a stop at the spectacle in front of him. Clara bumps into his back.

INT. CALLUM'S HUT - SUNSET: The dark cloud is circling Callum like a tornado in slow motion. Callum looks up at The Doctor and admonishes-

 

CALLUM MACBAIN

Any time you want to DO something. I mean, you

don't need me to write a formal request or anything like that.

THE DOCTOR

Callum, my friend, will you ever learn that I am always,

well at least most of the time, well, statistically speaking

I'd say that I arrive in the nick of time about say, 85% of the...

CALLUM MACBAIN

Doctor! I do not give a hoot about statistics right now - I'm about to become one!

 

Moving around carefully so as to not touch the swirling mass, The Doctor grabs the unburned end of a log from the fireplace and with a sweep of his arm, moves Clara behind him. He jabs the lit end of the log into the swirling grey cloud. It recoils slightly.

THE DOCTOR

There will be no soul-sucking spectacles here tonight.

I've dealt with you lot before, and I'll dispatch you again!

 

Clara picks up on The Doctor's plan and grabs a second log from the fire. Moving next to The Doctor, she joins him in herding the malevolent creature back towards the door. The Doctor throws his log to Callum and snags a replacement from the now nearly depleted firebox. The combined efforts of the trio finally succeed and the creature draws up, spins around and exits the hut.

CALLUM MACBAIN

That was a wee bit close for comfort.

 

Callum mops his brow with his handkerchief. Spotting Clara he straightens up, wipes his hand on his vest and extends it to her.

 

CALLUM MACBAIN (cont'd)

Me name's Callum MacBain and it is a pleasure to meet you.

 

Clara reluctantly returns the handshake.

CLARA OSWALD

Yes, indeed. I'm Clara. Clara Oswald.

(She eyes her hand suspiciously and looks for something with which to wipe it off)

You seem to already know The Doctor.

CALLUM MACBAIN

Aye, there was the time back a few years when the Sisterhood of Artigone

tried to poison the water supply. Bad enough

ye might think, but the real whopper was when they took over

the MacBain Distillery, now THAT got The Doctor's attention!

 

Clara eyes the Doctor as he bounces around the room scanning various objects with the Sonic Screwdriver.

 

THE DOCTOR

Water, in addition to being essential for most life in the universe

is also a key ingredient in the making of a superb Scotch

whiskey, clan MacBain always produced.

CLARA OSWALD

Of course, I'm sure the water and the local population were your primary concerns.

 

Callum goes over to the pile of logs in the corner and begins to stoke the fire. The Doctor picks up the various papers on the table and looks at them with great interest.

 

THE DOCTOR

Callum, I see you've got the knack of Gallifreyan and also the general

gist of trans-dimensional vortex manipulation. Not bad for a Highland hermit.

CALLUM MACBAIN

Aye, that's right kind of you Doctor. The books you left

me last time you were here, well I've been puttin' them to good use.

 

The Doctor continues leafing through the papers. Clara picks up a few and although unable to make any sense of them, traces her finger along the circular Gallifreyan symbols.

 

CLARA OSWALD

These are quite beautiful...

 

Both men are somewhat absorbed in looking over some of Callum's notebooks. They do not notice that Clara is getting a slightly glazed look in her eyes. The symbols on the page she is holding begin to glow after her fingers touch them. Clara drifts away from the table over to the door. She is obviously under some kind of spell. The Doctor and Callum move over to the fireplace, using the light to better read the notes. They are absorbed in their conversation, and do not see Clara walk out into the dangerous night or that she drops the glowing paper on the floor behind her. Without looking up, the Doctor starts speaking to Clara thinking her still in the room.

 

THE DOCTOR

These creatures are quite nasty, but would not normally be

so aggressive if left to their own devices. Clara, I'll need you to gather the papers.

In order to investigate we need to find their lair...

 

Not hearing any snide remarks or other sounds, the Doctor looks up and raises his eyebrow quizzically.

 

THE DOCTOR (cont'd)

Clara? Clara...Clara!

 

He begins to panic and dropping the papers, he crosses the room to the door. Looking down he sees the paper that Clara had dropped, still faintly glowing. He bends down and only holding the edges gingerly picks it up, placing it on the table quickly to avoid touching it for too long.

 

THE DOCTOR(cont'd)

Oh, that's not good. That is not good at all.

CALLUM MACBAIN

What does it mean Doctor? I have never seen these symbols glow before.

THE DOCTOR

Oh I have Callum. I have, and the last time I saw this was the

start of a very, very bad day. One of the worst of my considerably long life.

One that I had hoped would never happen again. Alas, my hopes are dashed.

 

The Doctor considers the glowing symbols with a melancholic look on his face. Then, reaching a decision on his internal dialogue, he adjusts his sonic.

 

THE DOCTOR

Callum, we need to find Clara, and to do that we need to find the Bollachans.

CALLUM MACBAIN

Doctor... will they not have killed the lass?

THE DOCTOR

I think not Callum. But they will certainly not hesitate to kill us.

This is most certainly a trap, meant to lure me somewhere.

I'll be glad of your help, but if you want to bow out...

CALLUM MACBAIN

Doctor! There is no need to be insulting me like that.

And aren't we wasting time?

The DOCTOR smiles and pats Callum on the back.

THE DOCTOR

You're a good man Callum. We'll need to make torches.

Do you have the necessary materials?

CALLUM MACBAIN

Aye, that I do.

 

The two men go about gathering branches, rags and fuel to make as many torches as they can carry. The Doctor occasionally casting a furtive glance over at the still faintly glowing symbols on the papers on the desk.

 

 

FLASHBACK: EXT. VICTORIAN/GALLIFREYAN HEDGE MAZE - NIGHT The Doctor (his 1st incarnation, but in a middle-aged body) is on his knee holding the hand of a young girl, LUNA, who is lying on the ground. In her other hand she is clutching a parchment paper with the same glowing symbols that we have seen in the previous scene. They are in a Victorian hedge maze. A full moon above provides the only illumination. The Doctor is visibly upset.

THE DOCTOR

Luna, my dearest daughter, my Luna.

LUNA

Father, I am so sorry. I have seen things that I should not have.

THE DOCTOR

No, no. You mustn't blame yourself. I should have

taught you about the Temporal Druids.

You were already seeking answers.

LUNA

The symbols are so beautiful, father

. They swirl and dance before my eyes.

They are calling me.

THE DOCTOR

Don't go with them.

 

Tears are streaming down the Doctor's face. He collapses on the ground and holds his daughter close to him.

 

LUNA

Father, they lied to me. I thought they

were kind, but they tricked me. It was just a ploy to get

you to help them. I thought they would care for me, for us.

THE DOCTOR

I can't help them... you know that.

I can't help them and that means I will lose you.

LUNA

I know... but you must not help them. I see that now.

You do not make the decision alone.

THE DOCTOR

Luna, I wanted to be the one who takes care of you.

There is so much.... So much that I haven't said...

So much that we haven't done... All the stars and planets...

 

She looks up at her father's eyes and reaches her small hand out to wipe his tears away. She smiles at him.

 

LUNA

Some points in time are fixed. Immutable. This is one of those times.

THE DOCTOR

No. I will change it. I will....

 

Luna gasps and then goes limp in his arms, leaving him sobbing in the middle of the maze in the middle of the night.

 

FADE OUT.

END OF ACT ONE


End file.
